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(SACRAMENTO) – Attorney General Bill Lockyer issued the following statement on today’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in Granholm v. Heald, 03-1116 which struck down as unconstitutionally discriminatory state laws that prohibit direct shipments to consumers by out-of-state wineries.

“The ruling is a victory for consumers, as well as the great wineries of California,” said Lockyer. “The laws struck down by the court were not adequately justified as needed to further any regulatory concerns. They were economic protectionism, pure and simple. The court rightly found such protectionism has no place in this country’s free market-based system and violates constitutional safeguards for interstate commerce.”

The decision invalidated laws in New York and Michigan that barred direct shipments from wineries in California and other states. The statutes at issue allowed in-state wineries to ship directly to consumers. Lockyer’s office submitted an amicus brief urging the high court to invalidate the Michigan law. The brief was joined by the Attorneys General of Washington, Oregon, New Mexico and West Virginia.